CDC pauses diagnostic testing for rabies, other infectious diseases

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has paused its diagnostic testing for a host of infectious diseases, including rabies.

The CDC on Monday posted a list of 27 tests that it either discontinued or made temporarily unavailable. Some tests, the agency noted, are available commercially.

Among those temporarily paused are tests for rabies, adenovirus and varicella-zoster virus, which causes chickenpox. Tests for the Epstein-Barr virus and oropouche virus are also among the tests discontinued, as well as respiratory panel tests, which detect SARS-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 and influenza A and B. 

The Hill has reached out to the CDC and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for comment. 

Since HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took office in February 2025, the CDC has downsized significantly. The agency’s vaccine advisory panel also altered recommendations for the COVID-19 vaccine, while the agency shortened the childhood immunization schedule in January. The latter change prompted disagreement from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

There is still ample information on the CDC’s website for the diseases that the agency will discontinue testing for.

Rabies, for instance, is spread primarily through bites or scratches from an infected animal — often a bat, raccoon, skunk or fox, the site explains. The disease is nearly always fatal if individuals are not vaccinated before symptoms start.

The first symptoms of rabies may include a flu-like illness including weakness or discomfort, fever or headache, along with a prickling or itching sensation at the site of the bite, according to the center. 

Other “classic” symptoms of the disease include anxiety, confusion, agitation, hallucinations, being very thirsty but panicked by fluids, having lots of saliva and exhibiting aggressive behavior like thrashing and biting.